Radio Silence...

We know it's been A LONG time since we last blogged, but A LOT has happened and the wifi connection has been TERRIBLE.

We waved goodbye to the South American leg of our journey and took a gruelling 13 hour flight all the way across to the other side of the world! We touched down in Auckland before catching a flight to Christchurch where we spent a few days recovering from the terrible jet lag and wandering around the city centre before picking up our camper van for a month long driving tour of New Zealand...

We paid for a relatively small and basic Mighty Camper, but on arrival at the pick up point, actually got a surprise free upgrade to a four berth Britz camper. This seemed great at first given the two double beds and extra fridge/hob space, but we soon discovered a big van with only two people in is a lot lighter than it should be, meaning we were getting blown all over the road on the way to our first main stop, Mount Cook, by the strong westerly winds known as the Roaring Fourties.

Given the lack of Internet connection, we've been unable to update as regularly as we'd like, so below is a current rundown of what we've been up to in NZ so far:

• Took in the incredible views and dipped our toes in Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki
• Tramped (a kiwi way of saying walking/trekking/hiking etc.) on trails around the base of Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand
• Visited and stayed overnight in the historic pioneer town of Cromwell, which comes complete with wooden heritage buildings dating back to the 1800s gold rush
• Picked our own fresh and delicious cherries in the famous fruit growing region of Central Otago
  
• Stopped in Arrowtown, another heritage town which included a restored section dedicated to the memory of Chinese immigrant gold miners who came to New Zealand and some delicious vanilla and honeycomb ice cream
  
• We swam in the warm waters of Lake Hayes before spending the night freedom camping by the shore
  
• We took a few days in Queenstown, the adventure capital of NZ, where we did a bungy jump (more on that later!)
  
• Drove to Te Anau, a beautiful lakeside town where we took a day trip to Milford Sound (again, a separate post is coming on that!)
  
• Paddled in the naturally occurring crystal clear water of the Blue Pools on the Haast Pass
  
• Stopped at a salmon farm to sample some delicious fresh smoked fish
  
• Spotted New Zealand's rarest kiwi at the West Coast Wild Life Centre in Franz Josef
  
• Took a stroll down the windswept beach at Hokitika
  
• Spent a night camped next to ocean at Greymouth, watching the surfers riding the waves in the sunset
  

All of this whilst driving a camper van for the very first time for over 2000 kilometres and all in only 1 week!